Canadian Irish med student looking into possibility of career in Ireland/EU

[EdmontonOilers]

Hi guys,

Im a Canadian who decided go to Ireland for medical school. Im in my second year here at UCD and Im in my early 20’s. I just recently posted a question before this but I have another burning question that I want to get off my chest. I thought I should start I new thread since the question deals with a different issue.

I am hoping to practice medicine in Canada as a GP but Im not sure how difficult it really is and whether or not I will get a residency. It is important to me to have a solid backup plan so that if this doesn’t work out it wont be the end of the world. As a backup I would definitely be interested in practicing medicine in Ireland initially and then maybe anywhere in the EU. (I wouldn’t use the US as a back up because if I decided to really shoot for a residency in Canada I don’t feel that I would have time to do electives and write the exams for the US. I feel that its one or the other if you want to make a good application). Upper year students at UCD seem to think that I would likely be able to achieve an internship for sure after my degree here but no one seems to be sure if I could progress past internship year and make a career out of it (could I progress to house officer, registrar, Sen./Sp registrar at a reasonable pace)? I know that first choice always goes to EU citizens but Ive been told by Atlantic Bridge and upper years that there are often spots left over in smaller towns or underserviced areas. I heard that working your way up the ladder past internship is difficult because EU citizens have a major advantage over non E.U. citizens. I am worried that I could be frozen at house officer for example for 5 years in a row or something like that (forgive me if I sound ill-informed about the irish system of medicine and how residency works and stuff but I am just beginning to research it now). Does anyone know about any of this stuff and if practicing medicine in the EU as an Canadian Irish grad is a realistic option. It is obvious that my career in Europe would be helped out immensely if I had EU citizenship so I am also wondering how difficult it would be to obtain citizenship. I have heard that you need to be working in Ireland for 4 years before you can apply. Anyone heard anything else or how hard it would be for me? To make matters more complicated I have a serious girlfriend doing nursing back in Canada. If I were to work in Ireland would she be able to find work in Ireland as a nurse as well without too much difficultly?

I also heard that because of the new time directive being implemented in Ireland there will be a need for more physicians because each doctor will be forced to work less hours. Has anybody heard anything about this?

Sorry for the long post guys. Ill try and keep them shorter from now on. Thanks so much for all your help. All this stuff is really worrying me and I appreciate your help.

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[leorl]

I won't be of much help to you because I don't really know myself. But from what I've observed, north americans staying here so far haven't had too much trouble staying past internship, and I haven't heard of any complaints about being frozen in position. I think freezing at the moment is pretty much a problem in the UK moreso than in Ireland. Especially as the new plan to increase doctors goes into affect. However, not very much is known about this either because it hasn't happened yet, and unless someone happens to be very knowledgeable about the political and governmental planning that has gone into the project, we'll be kept in the dark a little bit. I'm not sure about the schemes either (ie. GP scheme), which is what makes positions more competitive, but there are ways to get jobs outside the schemes. Anyway, hopefully someone will elucidate more.

 

[Daddy-O]

Your in your second year at UCD dude? relax for a bit! I was in your boat three years ago. it will work out. your getting a world class education that will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life. yes, its worrisome for what to do in the future, but it does work out for most people. Im canadian UCD grad and doin residency in the US. If you want a primary care job ie GP/family med, pediatrics, OB etc then dont sweat it too much. there are lots of jobs in the US. family med seems to be easing up in canada too and i know of two guys in the year below me who got jobs in canada and two in my year. J1 is not a bad visa. if you wanna do fam med, US training is accepted in canada and you dont need to write anything more additional than canadian grads other than the MCCEE. H1b is tough to get and you still have to write MCCEE. so no point if you plan on going back to canada anyways. they are even letting fam med residents equate their USMLEs so that you dont need to write MCCQE1 and 2 anymore. what more could you ask for? so you see the times they are a changin. enjoy your time in dublin. you wont get that time back.